Two days after hourly employees at the private, billionaire-owned Glenstone art museum voted to unionize, a member of the leadership team felt compelled to share his thoughts. In particular, Director of Regional Partnerships Paul Tukey had some choice words for the employees “who don’t feel lucky to work here.” “Glenstone is great because of the vision and generosity of two people,” Tukey wrote in an email addressed to his boss, co-founder and director Emily Wei Rales , as well as the rest of the museum’s staff.
“I believe we’re the lucky ones, who work for people who paid us during Covid, who create paid positions that would be filled by volunteers virtually anywhere else, who have taken the high road at every turn in the past week despite truly sad untruths being shared publicly. “I hope we get through this and all learn from it,” Tukey added. “And I hope, in the end, that the people who don’t feel lucky to work here no longer do.
” Tukey’s note, sent June 9, echoes the sentiments and tactics from the museum’s leadership, including billionaire co-founders Emily and Mitchell Rales , who worked against employees’ efforts to unionize. Tukey has not responded to City Paper ’s requests for comment. Glenstone leadership declined to voluntarily recognize the union in early May, prompting an election on June 6 and 7 with the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency dedicated to protecting employees’ rights to unionize and addressing unfair.
